THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



583 



For tho FarmcrB' Register. 

 PATER NETS FOR CLEAKIKG AND VENTI- 

 LATING SILK-WORMS. 



Believins this admirable labor-savinc and vrn- 

 tilrtiin^ fippariUiis to he the most valuable inven- 

 tion lor ihai purpose that has been n)a(ie since 

 this noble insect was first domesncaied, I should 

 deem myself fzuiliy ul unpardonable nerrleci, il' I 

 did noi urire its ailopiiou on American sill<-cul- 

 turisis. Belore 1 describe these nets, ihe method 

 o( makinir and the manner of usinir then), i will 

 make a short quotation lioni the 'Journal of Ihe 

 American Silk Society." This will show the 

 opinion entertained of their value in a country 

 where the rearinu; of silk-worms is pursued as a 

 profitable branch oC husbandry, and where the 

 management ol' silk worms is well understood. 

 Persons unacquainted with the hal'its of silk- 

 worms, are generally incwmpeient judtjes ol the 

 value o( fixtures used lor their accommodation. 

 Hence thousands ol' dollars have been thrown 

 away by inex|)erienced theorists, in the United 

 Stales, lor the purchase ot fixtures that have ul- 

 timately been thrown away. By the way, 1 

 roust state explicitly, that I have neither paper, 

 Jalhs or nails, fur sale. 



" It appears, from the pages of the ' Propaga- 

 teur,' that the operation ol' cleaning the worms is 

 now perlbrmed in all the principal French co- 

 cooneries by means of what are termed paper- 

 nei.s (papiers filets.) It appears that nets made 

 of twine were first used, but they are now uni- 

 versally superseded by these paper nets, which 

 are much cheaper and are said to be better adapt- 

 ed to the purpose. 1 regret that I have not been 

 able to find any description of these nets in the 

 'Propagateur' — all the communications take it 

 for granted that the reader is already acquainted 

 with their construction. As far as I can learn, 

 however, from the difierent articles on the subject, 

 I think they are made by punching a great number 

 of small holes in a sheet of strong paper with an 

 ' instrument constructed for thepurpose. The invent- 

 or of this apparatus is M. Eugene Robert. In a 

 letter to the editor of the 'Propagateur,' he re- 

 marks: 'The use of the j5fi:;)er7jeis in the cocoon- 

 ery of Saint Tulle, and in a great number of large 

 and small establishments in the neighborhood, 

 has been attended with such entire success, that 

 I will hereafter confine myself to a simple pre- 

 Bentation of the testimony of those cuilurists who 

 have made use of them, in order to recommend 

 the adoption ol my economical net.' " 



I have now 250 paper nets in use ; and after 

 the ihird moulting they may be laid over the 

 worms daily, if the culturist desires it, up to the 

 time of mounting, and the worms may be kept 

 as clean as the most careful could desire and wi;li 

 little labor. The nets must not be laid over the 

 worms when they are torpid. But after the third 

 and fourth moulting, when nearly all the worms 

 are roused, they may be laid over them daily, and 

 when the leaves are scattered over the paper, 

 they will speedily extricate themselves from the 

 litter, ascend through the holes, and commence 

 eating. The nets may be used with or without 

 shelves under them. If without shelves, they 

 can be supported by parallel slips of limber, 

 about twenty inches apart ; if placed on shelves, 

 they must be raised about two inches, by placing 

 blocks of timber under each end. 



These nets are made by providing a frame- 

 work of light laths, three leet lonir and two wide 

 (this size IS most convenient) ; the two pieces of 

 laths, three leet long, being united by ttiree pieces, 

 two leet long, one at each end and one in the 

 middle. Holes, five-eighths ol an inch in diame- 

 ter, ate punched in sheets of strong brown |)aper, 

 three leet long and two leet wide, and these are 

 pasted on the frames. The distance between the 

 holes may be al)()ut an indi. With an instru- 

 ment, called a load-cutter, twenty sheets of paper 

 may be [lunched at once. Double seis of these 

 nets will cost but little more than shelves of rouiih 

 plank; and if the frames are well put together 

 with wrouiiht nails, they will last more than 20 

 years. The paper would require renewing in 

 every period of six or seven years. 



From passages in the letter of Dr. J. S. Bell, 

 in the 'Journal of the American Sid( Society,' it 

 appears that the use ol these nets is rapidly ex- 

 tending in France; and as silk culture advances 

 in the United States, I have no doubt they will 

 be generally adopted. They accommodate them- 

 selves to the means of every farmer, who can 

 buy a tew dollars' worth of paper and nails, and 

 who is capable of using the saw and hammer. 



If this paper v^hould be read by any who are 

 almost persuaded lo dig up their mulberry trees, i 

 entreat them to spare them one or two years 

 longer, and make trial of these nets, by rearing 

 the worms from one or two ounces ol' eggs. 



Layton Y. Atkins. 



P. S. My rearines of silk-worms during the 

 past summer, have not been ae siiccesslul as I 

 expected when I wrote about the muscardine. 1 

 have now a large parcel, nearly ready lo s(iin, 

 that look very well." Such lacts," drawn from the 

 experience of the season, as may be deemed use- 

 ful, I will communicate hereafter. 



September lOth, 1841. 



WHEAT AND INDIAN CORN IN FRANCE. 



For tlie Farmers' Register. 



Mr. Editor :— I place at your disposal some 

 more translations from " Le Bon Jardlnier;" 

 relating to wheat and Indian corn in France. 



Froment. — Wheat. Not being able to give 

 here a work sufficiently extended on the different 

 kinds of wheat, 1 shall content myself with mere- 

 ly mentioning some of the most valuable, and 

 which are best known to me by the experiments 

 which I have made. Beardless winter wheat, 

 white wheat of Flanders, is one of the most 

 beautiful of the varieties that are cultivated in 

 France. Ble blanc de Hongrie. White wheat 

 of' Hungary is remarkable (or the very round form 

 of its grain. Ble de Talavera has been very 

 much multiplied within some years in England. 

 Its straw is tall, ear lontr, fine white grain of a 

 long shape. Ble de Haie, hedge wheat, has a 

 large head, the chaff of which is covered with 

 down. This wheat was sent me from England, 

 and appears to be a very fine kind. Although it 

 was sent me under the name of hedge wheal, 

 I am not certain that it is the same which is de- 

 scribed under that name by Mons. Tessier, Ble 

 Lammas, Lammas wheat, is red, Ibrward and pro- 

 ductive. It should be sown early, and will not 

 succeed on moist land. It is apt to shatter, and 

 requires on that account lo be cut before it is en- 

 tirely ripe. Ble d hiver barbu. Bearded winter 



